whoa dang

i love my utmost for His highest by oswald chambers. every time i read it, i am convicted and see how much i need Jesus. today's reading was so familiar, more familiar than any re-read before. God is good. 

last year on this day, i was getting ready to embark on the longest hike of my life. i didn't know it, but i was going to hike 11.2 mi over 7 hours. honestly, it was one of the most stretching activities of my life. i had to lay down my pride and be in the back of the group; i had to see and live in the reality that God was/is my strength.

my favorite line is "If God puts you there (in a disagreeable place), He is amply sufficient."

HE is amply sufficient.

this year has been hard. i've experienced many new things and struggled through things unexpected. but God has been amply sufficient. in my utter weakness, in my utter rebellion in too many instances, He has remained amply sufficient.

Precious Father, thank you for this year of struggles and of joys. thank You that You are changing me into the glorious image of Jesus. please, continue to give me the grace to see You in every circumstance. please, give me the grace to stay focused on You and worship You alone. You are amply sufficient.

10 on 10

well, here's another look into the all too exciting life of me

*insert sarcasm here*

i'm not the biggest fan of breakfast food, but lately, 
i've been obsessed with frosted flakes.

the taste is delicious, the points fairly cheap, and the tiger's pretty awesome

i don't work until tonight, so i was able to spend 
some quality time with Jesus

i've loved hiking over the past few weeks. i'm basically obsessed with edgewood park in redwood city. today, i tried a couple of new trails. 
it was so fun!

(for the record, if a guy ever wants to propose to me, he really needs to consider doing it in that top frame. #gorgeous)

i decided to get some lunch and a ptl (passion tea lemonade). 

please note, the LIGHT ice ptl (shout out to mr. p-tuck).

yep, this is summer's lunch of champions.

well, i realized how disgusting my car was...

....so i decided to take it here. good life choice fo sho!

i ended up back home and checked the mail (my personal favorite chore)

this was a pleasant surprise in the mail!

congrats, boots! how mightily the Lord will continue to use you for His glory!

i went into my room to see what needed to be done. let's just say the pile of nursing uniforms on the floor needed to be dealt with. laundry ttiiiiimmmmeee!

 yep, there's underwear in there.

after a so called nap, i decided to bite the bullet and get ready for work. my first night back i always the hardest. i just don't want to go. after an unnecessary amount a bit of pouting and complaining, it was time to head out the door.

God knew my wicked heart, yet still decided to remind me of His goodness multiple times on the way to work. first when i stepped out the door of my apt 
and anther time at ocean beach in sf.

this wasn't the end to my day (in fact it was just the start), but i hope you enjoyed the simple musings of this simple life.

a year in journal world

i'm not a crazy journal er. and my journal mostly consists of prayers. since i'm turning over a new leaf, i thought it was time to start a new journal. i just have too many memories associated with my current journal. (ridiculous, but true.) but before i could set this one down and ready it for a life in my parents' attic, i took a gander through it. i saw where i was and where i am now. definitely in a different place, but definitely still very much in need of God, the source of true delight, joy, and satisfaction.

i wrote down a few verses and quotes that still press on my heart. i hope they encourage and challenge you as they challenge me:

 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

proverbs 19:21

"Sanctification means more than deliverance from sin, it means the deliberate commitment of myself whom God has saved to God, and that I do not care what it costs."

oswald chambers

"Some days require greater faith than others. When our spirits are low, we must cling

to the unseen God who has never failed in word or deed."

paul washer

a fortress of holiness:

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

1 corinthians 10:31

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."

romans 12:1

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

philippians 4:8

"One of the greatest strians in life is the strain of waiting for God."

oswald chambers

Matthew 5

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."

romans 12:12

what i wore wednesday

today is wednesday. and in the spirit of trying something new, i've decided to join the blog frenzy of "what i wore wednesday."

well, today is my fourth night off in a row. and when i don't work, 

i typically just hang out. my outfit reflects this.

please note, the comfortable yants (fusion of yoga and pants, for those not quite as stylish as me). classic black is always a winning choice (and a slimming one).

another classic choice: worn out t-shirt. i was feeling nastalgic today and

decided to break out the cbu nursing shirt.

finally, the look is topped off by some white sunglasses. let's take a closer look, shall we?

everyone has a signature to their look. for me, that's some white sunglasses and either toms or flip flops. since the weather is beautiful today, i went with the flip flops. 

lastly, let's examine the hair and makeup:

oh wait, i'm not wearing any makeup-ha! and the hair, well, i love that it's starting to get long again, so i'm sportin the "i didn't even blow dry cause i was so lazy today" look. fitting? i think yes.

well, i hope you enjoyed this addition of what i wore wednesday. 

until next time.

goal failure

i pretty much fail at any goal i set.

loose weight and keep it off-

fail.

read a book a month-

fail.

pray and fast weekly-

fail.

read the entire Bible in the course of a year-

fail.

learn to play the guitar-

fail.

and this is just the short list. maybe i'm not disciplined enough? or maybe i lack drive to follow through. i dunno what it is, but the point is that it sucks. i suck. and i know i need to change.

in the slump i've found put myself in over the past 4 months, i know what needed to change. i needed to live in obedience. i needed to live in pursuit of God. but i just wasn't doing it. (amongst other things), the book the pursuit of holiness by jerry bridges kept coming to mind. i had read it years ago and remember it impacting me. now that my faith had grown and my relationship and understanding of God had become deeper, i thought this would be a good book to dive into during a time that lacked (for the loss of a better word) holiness, or the pursuit thereof. yes, i know, those in Christ are made holy by His blood and by His blood alone. yet, i have a part to play in that. as paul says in romans 6:14 "for sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace," and in romans 6:1 "shall we continuing sinning that grace may increase? by no means!" clearly, simple belief in God is not enough. obedience is required. obedience birthed out of love for a kind, loving, just Savior. 

ok, i'm not trying to dig a theological hole here. the Lord saves and sanctifies; by His grace i am able to follow, able to obey. nevertheless, i control my actions and attitude. and those have not been reflective of love and obedience. (did that clarify? i sure hope so)

so i found myself finally picking up the book and finally reading more than the preface. i would love to quote the entire first chapter here, but i won't. buy the book, or borrow it from me when i'm done. it's worth the $8.